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The Pledge
Ladies and Gentleman of Great Britain - Welcome to The Pledge!
As a proud citizen of Great Britain, I feel that I am duty bound to save my ailing country and help restore it to its former glory; a country where we can be proud to call ourselves British. In order to do this, I am looking to raise £1 million so that I can create businesses whose sole aim is to bring a bit of joy back into Britons' lives.
This site is a temporary space that I've designed myself (apologies) to introduce you to my idea that could change Britain forever. I thought of it while I was on the tube and I believe that if this is a success, it will change the United Kingdom forever!
Have a read of the plan over the next few pages and email me your thoughts info_thepledge.co.uk
Please also join my Facebook group "The Pledge - Britain, are you with me?"
Thanks
P
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Background
28.12.09 8:30am
As I look out of my Hammersmith and City line carriage at Farringdon, London on a dreary December morning, with condensation and sleet as my only companion I think life can't get any worse than this. I can't afford to live in London at the moment; I can't afford (mentally) to go back to my parents' either. I'm stuck in credit crunch limbo with an access-all-areas pass to misery and poverty. All I want is to sod off to the Cote d'Azur in a Mazda MX5 and sunbathe watching the world go by without a care in the world. Unfortunately I don't own a Mazda MX5 and if I headed down to the south of France, I couldn't afford to get back again
Headlines on daily papers tell of a recession greater than anything previous, more British lives lost fighting in other countries, banks being nationalised on a weekly basis...
All of these things down to the greed of a western nation.
Their obsession to be the envy of the world greater than their love for the human being. It makes you feel sad to be part of that demise and as a Briton maturing in this day and age it almost makes me want to pack my bags, work abroad and hide my head in the sand until it's safe to come back.
Then a proverbial light bulb flickered on in my head.
Why was I running away from my problems like everyone else?
Britain would be an OK place to live with a lick of paint (illustration not accurate).
Why not start the ball rolling to get the country back on track?
One thing I've learned in my short time working in the media industry is that Great Britain loves an underdog. I am a 24-year-old practically unemployed man who is slightly underweight and isn't very fashionable. Perfect! I could start a revolution!
Just as quickly as Britain has turned into an army of eco-warriers to reduce our carbon footprints, I want to change it into a more caring nation. A nation that's not as obsessed with getting one over on each other, but one that you can sit down and have a chat with over tea and biscuits. It has always been a dream of mine to own my own company but with no spare cash my ideas were no more than pipe dreams. I would need to get people to club together to achieve this goal.
Britain, are you with me?
A Pledge to my Country
2010 is going to be the year that Great Britain turns itself around.
From a country stuck in an endless recession, to a United Kingdom that your grandparents used to talk of.
One man is standing up and making a change
As a proud citizen of Great Britain, I feel that I am duty bound to save my ailing country and help restore it to its former glory; a country where we can be proud to call ourselves British.
My pledge to you, the people of Great Britain, is to devote a minimum of 5 years of my life to help restore Blighty to its former glory, to a time before the words credit crunch existed, when your neighbour was also your best friend, and when you could view a hoody as a convenient protector against rain and nothing more.
If you help me raise £1 million GBP, I will promise to use that money to create businesses that will put the Great into Great Britain (pardon the cliché) and the United into United Kingdom (too much?!).
Obviously you will be thinking "who is this mad man asking me to donate my hard earned money in a time when I cant even leave the house without being reminded how poor and insignificant I am?" Fair enough.
I am a normal guy who has enough balls to try out a plan that will attempt to bring a bit of joy and excitement into our lives again. I am not looking to become loaded from this project; I am seriously interested in helping my country. It's about time someone started a business that wasn't hell bent on profits and actually put the customer first, giving them a memorable experience in a positive way instead of feeling swindled and cheated.
This website you're looking at now is a temporary site to introduce people to the idea. I am working on a beta website in order to fundraise.
Fundraising will occur in two ways: you can donate through the website or buying pixels of webspace (i.e. advertising). The Fundraising will stop when the target reaches £1,000,000.00 and thats when the plan will kick in!
Now then, there is a big hole in this plan.
I dont actually know how to put the money to good use
That is where you come in fellow Britons!
I want you to send me ideas of what you'd like the money spent on (serious suggestions only!). It could be to start a live entertainment venue in Londons West End Moulin Rouge style, or a company where you can nominate people to recognise them for their hard work in the community. You could even combine the two and use the profit from a live venue to support the gifting company. Its entirely up to you! The aim should be for people to be happy in whatever form that may be.
Once the money is in and the decision is made on what the project will be, I will leave my job and work full-time on turning the idea into a reality. I shall take a salary from the money in order to do this, but at no point during the five years will I or anyone involved collect dividends or any sort of profit share. All of the income will go back into the business and any future ideas that may be conceived.
My aim is to also pay back anyone who has offered money through the website eventually (this is obviously subject to the project being a success). I see the people who input money into The Pledge as investors and therefore deserve a reward for their trust in the project.
So I think that's everything covered.
Believe in me, and we can put a bit of sun back into Great Britain!
To get the ball rolling, why not email me your ideas of businesses you'd like to see created with the money and I'll pop a list up on the website.
Email Papa at info_thepledge.co.uk
Frequently Asked Questions
1DDFGGHHH
I have compiled a list of questions you're probably asking yourselves so let's get these out in the open for all to see...
1.What the hell?!
A. A valid question. I've had a brainwave which I am acting upon and it certainly seems to be more than most people at the moment so give a guy a break!
2.What's the big idea?
A. In a nutshell, I plan to raise a load of money in order to start a company which is based on the recommendation of the British public, with the objective being to put a bit of a smile on the faces of Britons across the land.
3.Are you really planning on using the money for the good of the people, or to fund an extravagant lifestyle?
A. Call me crazy but I do want to do what I've set out in The Pledge. I'm not a superhero, but I am determined to make this a success so there is an element of trust involved. If it takes me forever to raise the money, I will carry on until I reach that goal.
4.Who the F are you and what are your credentials?
A. I am an average guy, working in media but looking for a new challenge. Really nothing special about me personally, apart from a drive to sort out this mess that weve got ourselves into. I have chosen to stay annonymous as I have no interest in being a celebrity and want to show that I'm not doing this for personal exposure.
5.What mess?
A. I feel (and I don't think I'm the only one) that Britain has lost its pizzazz. My grandparents used to tell me stories of street parties during the war; nowadays I couldn't even tell you the name of one single person living on my street. I sit on the tube everyday in silence not making eye contact with the people around me and I think, I wonder what would happen if we smiled a bit more. Also especially in the last decade, I feel that there is too much drive to reach high profits in business even if it means alienating the customer from the company. I see it everyday: at work, at the shops, on the phone to a call centre What happened to putting the customer first?!
6.So say you create an empire over the next 5 years then what?
A. Well see what stage were at by then and make a decision. That's a long time away and we've no idea what will happen!
7.Where do I sign up?
A. This is a test site that I've made (no HTML knowledge whatsoever) and is just here to introduce you to The Pledge to get people on board. The fundraising element will be introduced when I find a web designer but for now you can send me ideas of a business that you'd like to see the money spent on (serious suggestions only!) info_thepledge.co.uk. I also have a Facebook group titled "The Pledge - Britain are you with me?" Add yourself. Now!
8.I'm from (any other country outside of Great Britain) - can I get involved?
A. Deffo. This is not meant to exclude anyone. I just use "Great Britain" and "Britons" as a buzz word. The more the merrier!
9.I have a question that's not up on the FAQs, what do I do?
A. Email me any questions to info_thepledge.co.uk and I will add them to this page. I want to be as honest as possible with people from the start so I'm sure that a question you have will be something someone else is thinking.
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